


The Crosses We Bear

by AetherSprite (AranthianPrincess)



Series: Journeys and Destinations [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: (but not really), (they get better), Cap_Ironman Reverse Bang Challenge, M/M, Major character death - Freeform, Mentions of alcoholism, References to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Tony and his 'bots, excessive robot abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-16
Updated: 2014-05-16
Packaged: 2018-01-25 09:16:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1643465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AranthianPrincess/pseuds/AetherSprite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes Tony wonders what his life would have been like if he had never gone to Afghanistan. It would certainly be a lot less exciting, for one. Probably a hell of a lot shorter too. The amount of people out for his blood wouldn't have changed any, though, which can't be a good thing.</p><p>Steve just wants to know why the hell Tony is being so difficult about letting his team protect him when there is a crazy ex-weapons manufacturer on the loose. Of course, Tony doesn't even seem to care and it frustrates Steve to no end.</p><p>These are simply the crosses they bear, but, somewhere down the road, they might even learn to share their burdens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Crosses We Bear

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [[ART] The Crosses We Bear](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1618847) by [prompt_fills](https://archiveofourown.org/users/prompt_fills/pseuds/prompt_fills). 



> Title: The Crosses We Bear  
> Pairing(s): Steve/Tony pre-slash  
> Continuity: Compliant up to and including _Iron Man 3_ with references from _Captain America: The Winter Soldier_ thrown in. Also a touch of 616.  
>  Disclaimer: The Marvel Cinematic Universe and 616 universe are the property of Marvel. This fan-fiction is written for fun not profit.  
> Author's Notes: My contribution to the Cap-IM Reverse Bang 2014. I had so many ideas for this fic at the beginning and, somehow, they all survived until the end. That doesn't usually happen to me. However, it did result in the start of a series because I couldn't fit everything into one fic. So, basically, I ended up rewriting CA2. Not that I didn't like the movie or anything. I actually loved it! I guess my brain just decided to try a what-if fic on for size.  
> A shout out to the lovely prompt_fills who was the artist half of our team. I couldn't have done it without you!

Tony took his first steps into the old, dusty mansion he once called home. It had been years since he had last set foot into the Stark Mansion and yet, somehow, it hadn't changed at all since he'd left. The grand staircase curved just as elegantly off to the side despite years of accumulated dust and neglect, leading to a large balcony on the second floor that would in turn lead to a long hallway and several equally large rooms.

Slowly, Tony climbed the stairs, hand trailing lightly along the railing and leaving a track in the dust where the woods previous brilliance still managed to shine through. Tony glanced around as he ascended, allowing a small, private smile to grace his features at the fond memories swirling in the dust around him. With a little work he could restore his old home to its former glory.

Somehow he found himself in front of the closed door to his father's study, his study for two decades now. Tony pushed the door open hesitantly, afraid of what he would find and just as equally hoping his father would be on the other side, sitting at his desk haphazardly covered in paperwork and irritable at being interrupted by his only son. Logically, Tony knew both his parents were long dead and he rarely allowed himself to dwell on such sentimental thoughts, but when he was feeling particularly lost and alone Tony would allow himself to wish for just one moment that he was a little kid again and his parents would be there to take care of all his problems for him. They may not have been particularly attentive or understanding, but they had taken care of him and made sure he was well provided for at least.

Tony finally pushed the door all the way opening and, despite his hopes, the room on the other side was empty of human life. Only his father's desk, chair, and books remained behind. Several odds and ends cluttered the desk's surface, left behind by a dead man but, nevertheless, still a familiar sight for his son.

He wandered over to the desk, idly trailing a hand along the spines of the nearest books along his chosen path. Tony drew random patterns in the thick layer of dust on the desk, picking up a small globe with the other and casually turning it this way and that, carefully brushing off some of the dust with his thumb. One corner of his mouth was lifted in a tiny grin.

Tony shook his head, banishing childhood memories and placing the globe back on the desk just as carefully as he had handled it before. Then he swiped a hand through the concentric circles encasing a star he had drawn in the dust, wiping it away like it had never been there, and turned, striding back out of the room and down the stairs. He paused in the main entrance, glancing back over his shoulder for one more look before he left, shutting the door firmly behind him.

He had work to do.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Alright, J, let's get to work,” Tony said cheerfully as he practically bounced through the door to his workshop in the Tower.

There was still a lot of work to do in the upper floors where Loki had done a particular number on the building, but the lower floors, including his workshop, were perfectly fine. Tony considered himself lucky to have that much, honestly. His primary workshop had been destroyed along with his house in Malibu, which was currently being rebuilt. Fortunately, the Tower was once again liveable, the upper floors being mostly reconstructed with only cosmetic work and furnishing left to be completed. Tony had decided to keep the 'A' on the outside of the building and had unofficially renamed it 'Avengers Tower'. The first chance he got he would make the name change official. He should probably get Pepper on that...

“Sir?” JARVIS questioned, computerized voice just this side of gently concerned.

“It's nothing, J,” Tony said, shaking his head clear of thoughts of Pepper. “Have the recovered parts of my 'bots arrived yet?”

“They arrived for you approximately two hours ago. I took the liberty of directing the deliveryman to stack the boxes in the maintenance elevator. They are waiting for you on the garage level.”

“Thanks, J.”

“You are quite welcome, Sir,” JARVIS responded.

Tony strode to his private elevator and took it down to the garage. He paused for a brief moment to admire his car collection while he made his way to the back and the maintenance elevator. The doors opened automatically at his approach, revealing three plain brown boxes with the names of each of his 'bots scrawled on the side in black permanent marker. Tony caressed each box in turn, murmuring soothingly to the dismantled robots inside even though he knew they couldn't hear him. Still, it made him feel better to talk to them.

“Hey, there, Dummy. It's gonna be okay now. Daddy will make everything all better. Butterfingers trusts me, don't you, Butterfingers? You know I'll fix you guys. And poor little You. You've had it pretty rough in your short life, haven't you, boy? You'll be alright, though. Daddy's here.”

“You know they can't hear you, right?”

Tony jumped at the sound of someone speaking almost directly into his ear, spinning around to confront the intruder... who turned out to be none other than Natasha. She flashed a quick smirk at him and took a step back to give him space, which was unusually polite of her. Tony stared warily at her.

“What are you doing here?” Tony asked instead of answering her question. She didn't seem to be expecting him to anyway. “And how did you get in? JARVIS?”

“A visitor for you, Sir,” JARVIS replied immediately. “Agent Romanov wishes to speak with you. She says it's urgent.”

“Thanks. In the future, J, if you could warn me before the scary ninja lady breaks into my Tower I might just decide not to completely reprogram you.”

“Of course, Sir. I shall make a note.”

Tony rolled his eyes at the ceiling, but let the quip go. He had more important, scary-ninja-lady business to deal with.

“What's so urgent you had to break into my Tower and practically give me a heart attack to tell me?”

“I have news,” Natasha said, ignoring Tony's melodrama. “Justin Hammer has somehow managed to escape from prison.”

Tony shrugged carelessly and grabbed one of the boxes, carrying it back toward his private elevator. “That's really not all that surprising. He did manage to break that one guy, Vanko, out of prison. Just hunt him down and put him back. Hammer's not smart enough to manage to go into hiding for very long.”

“That's why I'm here, Stark,” Natasha said, following Tony across the garage and back. He was on his second trip now.

“Because Hammer is wandering around a free man? What? Did you want to know how he got his special Get Out of Jail Free card? Sorry, I got no idea.”

“No. Hammer has escaped and completely disappeared off SHIELD's radar. He has been for over a month now.”

Tony dropped the box he was carrying just as they reached his private elevator. It landed with a loud thunk next to Dummy and Tony cried out at the sound, falling to his knees and petting the banged up cardboard box frantically.

“Butterfingers! Are you alright, boy? That mean, scary ninja lady made me drop you. Don't worry, Daddy will fix you.”

Natasha rolled her eyes. “Has anyone ever told you how weird it is that you refer to yourself as 'daddy' when talking to those robots?”

“Firstly, for your information, I am their daddy and I will refer to myself as such if I want to. And secondly, people who break into my Tower to inform me that a no-good, talentless hack out to ruin me has escaped not only their custody, but also evaded their ability to find him have no right to criticize my relationship with my 'bots,” Tony growled from his position kneeling next to Butterfingers' and Dummy's boxes. He glared up at Natasha who only arched an eyebrow and stared at him until he gave in and sighed. “Fine. What do you want from me?”

“Nothing. I was just informing you of the situation out of the kindness of my heart.”

“Excuse me if I don't entirely believe that,” Tony said sarcastically. Natasha smirked.

“Fine. I am under orders to inform you of the situation and place you under the protection of SHIELD until Hammer can be found. We agree that this is out of character behavior for him and believe he had help. There is also a very strong possibility that you could be a target. Therefore, a SHIELD agent will be assigned to you for protection.”

“No.”

Natasha raised a eyebrow that looked more dangerous than questioning. “Excuse me?”

“I said, 'no.' I will not have some random spy-in-training flitting about my Tower and getting under foot. I can protect myself just fine. Thanks for the offer, though.”

Tony waved a dismissive hand, standing and walking swiftly back across the room to retrieve You's box. Natasha followed him like an earnest puppy yapping at his heals, only uncomfortably silent. He decided to ignore her in the hopes that she would go away on her own if he didn't pay her enough attention. Unfortunately, Tony's luck had never been that good.

“It's non-negotiable,” Natasha explained as though she was talking to a particularly stubborn child, albeit one who could understand big words like 'non-negotiable.' “You will have a SHIELD escort. We could arrange for one of the three Avengers who work for SHIELD to be assigned to you if that would be more preferable.”

“Because that makes everything better? No, thanks. I don't need any super spies under foot either,” Tony replied absently and nearly dropped You's box too when his brain caught up to his ears. “Wait. Three?”

Natasha stood there with an innocent look on her face that Tony didn't believe for a second. “You didn't know? Captain Rogers decided to work for SHIELD after the Battle of New York. He's doing quite well.”

“That's great, I guess. The answer's still 'no.' I can take care of myself.”

Tony stepped onto the elevator and watched as the doors closed behind him, leaving Natasha on the other side still standing in the garage. Her expression remained neutral as the doors slid shut, but Tony could see the tightness in her jaw that signaled clenched teeth and annoyance. He had gotten to her, which was a small victory at least. Plus, he wouldn't have to deal with sneaky super spies wandering the Tower and getting into things they weren't supposed to be getting into.

Besides, Tony hadn't been lying when he said he could protect himself. He had an idea for his next suit that he would start working on as soon as the repairs to Dummy, Butterfingers, and You had been made. He was going to need their help to pull it off anyway.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Steve went to answer the door as soon as he heard the knock, opening it a second later and gaping at the person he saw standing there. Natasha stared back, looking unimpressed and a little impatient. He wasn't sure how he knew that since she looked the same as she always did. Steve put it down to working closely with her as an agent of SHIELD in the months following the Chitauri invasion. They had grown pretty close since then. Enough that Natasha seemed to feel it was her duty to point out nice girls he could go on dates with.

“Think of another girl who would be perfect for me?” Steve joked, stepping aside so she could enter his apartment.

“Not exactly,” she said with a small smile.

“Then what is it? You don't normally make house calls.”

Steve shut the door behind her, following Natasha into his small living room and taking a seat at one end of the sofa while she occupied the other. He sat patiently, waiting while Natasha decided what she wanted to say. Steve had long since learned that you couldn't rush the Black Widow and it was pointless to try. Finally, Natasha began to speak. Quietly at first, but she quickly reached her normal, confident volume.

“I probably shouldn't be talking to you about this since I'm sure he would be very upset with me if he knew, but I don't know who else I can go to for help,” she said, taking a breath and continuing before Steve could ask if she was in trouble. “I'm fine, aside from being useless in this situation, but a mutual acquaintance could be in trouble. I don't know for sure.”

“Who is it? Natasha, what's going on?” Steve asked, leaning forward earnestly.

“Stark.”

Steve's brow furrowed. “What about Stark?”

The man was irritating and a bit too arrogant for his own good, but Steve didn't see how that could be a problem serious enough to bring Natasha all the way out to his apartment in Brooklyn. Steve wasn't completely ignorant of current events and knew about Stark's adventure during Christmas, but he hadn't heard how that had ended. Was Stark in trouble because of that?

“Where is he now?” Steve demanded, standing and getting ready to head for the door when Natasha grabbed his arm.

“Stark's fine for now. He's at Stark Tower rebuilding his robots, but all his suits were destroyed in his battle with Aldrich Killian. Stark may think he can protect himself, but he is seriously outgunned without his armor and he won't let SHIELD assign an agent for protection.”

“Hold on. Back up,” Steve ordered, reclaiming his seat on the sofa and turning his best Captain America glare on Natasha. “What exactly is the problem? Why is Stark in danger? Is it something he did?”

“No, it's nothing Stark did. He owns a very successful company, you know that. Well, he has a lot of enemies because of that. One of them is the CEO of a rival company, Justin Hammer of Hammer Industries. The two have been competing over military defense contracts and other work since their inception. Unfortunately for Hammer, Stark is a genius when it comes to technology and gets the majority of the business contracts.”

Steve nodded. He knew all this and, frankly, was quite glad he was a simple soldier. Somehow, Steve didn't think he could navigate the world of business as well as Stark did on a regular basis. Give him a deadly mission behind enemy lines over dealing with cutthroat businessmen any day of the week.

“A few years ago Hammer broke a Russian native out of prison. His name was Vanko, the son of the man who helped Howard Stark design the original reactor. Hammer used Vanko to attack Stark during the Stark Expo, causing severe injuries and millions of dollars in property damage. It took both Stark and his friend Colonel Rhodes to defeat him and even then Stark's latest armor was nearly destroyed.”

“What does this have to do with the present?” Steve asked. “As far as I can tell, Stark managed just fine on his own.”

“Hammer was imprisoned after the incident and has since escaped. He's been off the radar for just over a month and SHIELD can't find him. We think he's planning something big and Stark is his primary target.”

“I don't understand. This Hammer sounds like a normal human. Surely Stark can defend himself outside the armor from someone like him.”

Natasha determinedly avoided Steve's eyes. “Let me put it this way. Hammer wouldn't be able to design his way out of a paper bag, let alone a prison. He had help, professional help. These people knew what they were doing and now all their ire is aimed right at Tony Stark.”

“And what do you expect me to do about it? It sounds like Stark doesn't want our help or you wouldn't be here,” Steve pointed out.

“No, he doesn't, but that doesn't mean he doesn't need it.”

“Natasha, we can't force our help on him if he doesn't want it.”

“Are you saying you would leave a teammate to the wolves without even trying to help him?” Natasha asked, one eyebrow raised in a challenge.

“Of course not!” Steve shouted, standing and beginning to pace furiously. “But we're not just going to barge in on him and demand he let us hang around. You know Stark won't go for that and I honestly can't blame him. Maybe he really does know what he's doing.”

“Stark may be a genius, but he's also highly self-destructive. Instead of trying to find a different way to power the arc reactor in his chest when it was poisoning him to death, Stark started giving away all his possessions and essentially preparing for death. You know about his run-in with the Mandarin this past Christmas. Stark nearly killed himself during that ordeal and ended up destroying all his suits because of it.”

Steve grinned at her. “You really do care, don't you?” Natasha shrugged and didn't answer, but Steve hadn't really expected her to. “Fine. I'll go talk to him, but I'm not promising anything. If he doesn't want our help, he doesn't want our help and we'll just have to trust he knows what he's doing.”

“You can't,” Natasha ordered. Steve turned back to look at her quizzically. “He'll know I sent you if you go to him now and you'll be right back at square one.”

“Fine. What do you suggest?”

Natasha smirked at him again, looking more like her usual, devious self. “There's this cafe a couple blocks away from Stark Tower where people gather to catch glimpses of Iron Man on test flights, et cetera. I would suggest hanging out there for a few days and seeing if you can't spot him.” She stood and headed toward the door, turning back in the doorway. “Don't forget to bring something to entertain yourself. You wouldn't want to be too conspicuous,” she said and left, closing the door silently behind her.

~*~*~*~*~*~

A week later found Steve back at the cafe for the seventh day in a row, sketchbook in hand. He sat in the same place he had every other day, a little baffled that, despite the crowd of customers, the seat was always empty when he arrived.

Steve sat and ordered some coffee-related concoction from the smiling waitress. It must still be early enough in her shift that she wasn't feeling the stress of so much business yet. Steve felt a little sorry for her on those days when she ran around non-stop and grew increasingly more haggard. She seemed cheerful enough today, though, so Steve smiled back when she returned with his ordered before settling down to doodle idly in his sketchbook while he waited for Stark to make an appearance.

The whole process was frustrating. Stark never did anything on anyone else's schedule but his own. Steve hadn't seen anything wrong with that until he ended up on the opposite side of impatiently waiting for Stark to do what he wanted. Damn, but he was irritating and equally as impossible to stay mad at once he finally made his appearance. Steve was considering giving up on this ridiculous stakeout and just going up to the Tower to ask after him. Stark would probably let him in if only to satisfy his constant curiosity and poke fun at Steve.

Then again, Stark might refuse to let him in and then Steve would get absolutely nowhere. Stark could be unpredictable on his best days and terribly frustrating on his worst. Steve wondered how anyone ever managed to get anything accomplished when dealing with the genius, but he supposed Stark, like anyone, had his quirks and learning them would make him easier to understand. Maybe... He really didn't hold out much hope for figuring Stark out, especially since he was always hiding in one of his workshops and tended to refuse human company.

A sudden cheer went up around him, startling Steve into looking up, his sketchbook laying forgotten on the small table he sat at. There, flying toward the cafe, was a crimson and gold, man-shaped blur. Steve gaped, staring in amazement at the beauty and grace of Stark's latest armor. He was definitely Howard's son, but so much more at the same time. Steve didn't remember being quite as intrigued by Howard's inventions. Stark's were another story entirely.

Iron Man flew in a straight line, slowing slightly when he neared the cafe and presumably spotted Steve sitting there. He pulled up abruptly and dropped in his trademark three-point landing right in front of Steve. Standing up, Iron Man took the few clanking steps to join Steve at his table, though he didn't take the other seat, the armor being too heavy for the cheap chairs the cafe used.

“Hey, Cap! What'cha doin' out here?” Stark greeted him cheerfully through Iron Man's external speakers. “Not looking for me, are ya?”

“As a matter of fact, I was,” Steve replied with just a slight raising of an eyebrow to hint at a possible joking camaraderie.

Stark laughed. “You should have just come by the Tower. It would have been faster.”

“I wasn't sure I was welcome.”

Iron Man tilted his head to the side and Steve could just imagine Stark frowning behind the faceplate. “Of course you are. It is Avengers Tower, after all, which wouldn't make much sense if the Avengers weren't welcome there.”

“'Avengers Tower'?” Steve repeated, his brow wrinkling in confusion. “I thought it was Stark Tower.”

“It was, but when Reindeer Games blew off most of the sign, I thought replacing the whole thing would be a shameful waste of a great opportunity. So, a single 'A' on the side of the building gave birth to Avengers Tower,” Stark rambled proudly and a little smugly. “Still think the Tower's ugly now that it bears your team's name?”

Steve ignored the question, still feeling a little twinge of regret every time he thought about his thoughtless comment to Stark on the Hellicarrier. “What's up with the armor?”

Iron Man looked down at himself, spreading his arms just a tiny bit from his sides. “What do you mean? Is there something wrong with it?”

“No,” Steve hurried to assure him, mentally cursing himself for speaking before thinking in Stark's presence again. “It's just I've never known you to carry on a casual conversation in full armor. What? Did you get in a bad fight or something?”

Stark laughed again. “No, nothing like that,” he said. “My face is just as handsome as ever, it's just not present at the moment.”

Steve frowned. “How can you not be present? I'm looking right at you.”

“Instead of telling you, how 'bout I show you? Stop by the Tower in a few minutes. I'll have the receptionist send you up.”

With that, Iron Man took off, shooting straight up and jetting off at a right angle toward the horizon. Sighing, Steve packed up his belongings, dropped a few dollars on the table to cover his bill, and left the cafe with a friendly smile for the waitress who smiled back. It looked like he was going to be paying a visit to the Tower after all.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Tony watched Steve entered the Tower lobby on the holo screen JARVIS had pulled up for him. Steve spoke with the receptionist and was just entering Tony's private elevator when Tony got distracted by his new suit's first test flight. A red warning flashed on the second holo screen Tony should have been paying attention to, indicating an imminent collision.

Tony flung his hands up, fingers encased in metal painted red and gold with only his joints left bare so as not to impede movement. A second, larger piece of metal covered the back of his hand and circled around and over his lower palm, connecting all the pieces together and forming a glove of sorts. Wires attached to each finger ran along the back of his hand until they fused into one wire and connected to the jack on his holo table.

A twitch of his fingers brought the basic controls up, a large holographic circle with several different wedges marked with various symbols. Tony spun the circle until the section with what looked like a miniature paper airplane emblazoned on it reached the top. He tapped the section and five other circles popped up with several rectangles of varying lengths. Everything was labeled, but Tony had long since memorized which control did what so he wouldn't have to waste time reading.

The first circle had minimized so it sat in the bottom left corner out of the way, leaving the other controls and holographic flight instruments front and center. Tony wasted no time admiring his latest invention, immediately leaping into action. He reached for the attitude indicator, first two fingers touching the holographic Iron Man in the center of the circle, tilting it a little to the left and up. At the same time, Tony touched the indicator bar on the main thruster output, putting on a burst of speed and shooting past the 747 with ease.

Tony let out an excited whoop, pleased with himself and his latest invention, and leveled out the attitude indicator, returning the armor to a level flight path after it had made a complete turnaround. That was enough testing for the day. The Iron Man armor had responded beautifully to a potentially disastrous situation and Tony was satisfied with its performance so far. He wanted to make a few adjustments, maybe add some more features and make a couple upgrades.

“Bring it in, J,” Tony ordered, making a slight adjustment on the heading indicator then giving over control of the armor to JARVIS so he could monitor it's path back to the workshop. “Let me know when the armor's ready for the landing. I want to see how well it responds with the new controls.”

“Of course, Sir.”

Steve chose that moment to walk into the workshop.

“Tony?”

“Hold on a minute, Cap. Be right with you,” Tony said, flapping a hand in Steve's general direction to get him to wait and be quiet as he leaned forward to watch the screen projecting the truly marvelous sight of the New York cityscape from the armor's external cameras as it flew back toward the Tower.

Steve did as he was told, but Tony could still feel the waves of confusion and curiosity rolling off the man. It would have been distracting if Tony hadn't been more interested in how his new tech was working. Instead, he felt a small tingling of excitement that could only come from having his childhood idol here to witness his brilliance.

Tony shut that thought down immediately before it led to places he didn't want to go. His full attention was required for the landing anyway. Still, Tony could feel Steve's presence at his back. Steve had moved closer so he could look over Tony's shoulder at the holographic screen.

“Where's the armor?” Steve asked, ignoring Tony's earlier request. “Weren't you just flying around in it?”

“Nope. Been here the whole time.”

“If you're here, then where's the armor?”

“If you shush for a minute, you'll find out,” Tony said, sitting up straight and raising his hands again.

The large circle grew to fill the projected screen. Tony spun it again, tapping the same symbol with the paper airplane and bringing up the Flight Control Screen. Just then the armor flew through the open overhead door. Tony tapped the small bar in the rectangle labeled “Thruster Output” and drew it down until the green indicator turned from yellow to orange to red at the very end. At the same time, he touched the attitude indicator and tilted it straight up.

The armor responded instantly, drawing up until it was perpendicular to the floor and hovering a few inches above the surface. Tony turned so he could get a more direct view as he watched the armor land. His hand hovered over the holographic switch that would shut the thrusters off and land the armor. When he flicked the switch, the thrusters suddenly opened up to full throttle and sent the armor rocketing off through the ceiling.

“Dammit! JARVIS, hit the kill switch! Shut it down!” Tony yelled, running toward the whole in the ceiling.

Just as he reached the edge of the hole, the armor fell back through, collapsing in a heap on the floor at his feet. Tony flung up his arms to protect his face when the armor crashed, slowly lowering them so he could look dejectedly at the armor.

“I knew that test was too good to be true,” he muttered. “J, analyze the footage from the test flight and landing and see what you can find out. I want to know what went wrong there at the end.”

“Of course, Sir.”

Tony turned and faced Steve, watching for any sign of disappointment for his failure. Instead, what he saw shocked him. Steve looked awed by what he saw, walking closer to stand next to Tony and stare down at the armor.

“There's no one in there,” Steve said with wonder. Then he looked at Tony. “You were flying it from here?”

Tony shrugged. “Yeah. It's nothing special. Drone technology has been around for a while now. I just thought I'd improve on it a bit. There must be a bug or glitch somewhere.”

“It's amazing.”

“You really think so?” Tony asked, trying to keep the hope out of his voice. He thought he succeeded if Steve's excited, childlike reaction was anything to go by.

“Definitely!”

Tony grinned, holding his hand up so Steve could get a better look at his new tech. “It's all thanks to this baby.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I've still gotta make some adjustments and a few upgrades, but this is the basic design,” Tony explained, taking them off and laying them on the nearest workbench. “But you didn't come here to be impressed by my genius. What were you really doing sitting at that cafe all week?”

“You knew I was there the entire time?” Steve asked, disbelieving.

“Not until just now. Thanks for confirming it, by the way.”

“Stark.” Steve gave him his Captain-America-is-disappointed-in-your-behavior face, but Tony just brushed it off.

“Come on, Cap. It's not like I was spying on you or anything. You just had the look of a man who was used to hanging around in the same place. I hazarded a guess and I was right. It's not my fault I'm a genius.”

Steve sighed. “For a genius, you sure do have a hard time not irritating people.”

“So I've been told,” Tony quipped, striding back to his favorite stool and pulling up his wall of holographic screens. “Now, tell me why Captain America, of all people, was staking out a cafe a block away from my tower.”

“I thought I told you already,” Steve said. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“About?”

Steve hesitated before answering. “Your safety.”

That got Tony to stop what he was doing and spin to face Steve with an annoyed frown on his face. “Natasha sent you, didn't she. That sneaky little she-devil.”

“She's worried about you. We both are.”

“That's great, Cap, but I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself.”

“I'm not saying you can't,” Steve argued.

“Then why did you come all the way over here to hound me about it?” Tony demanded. 

“Maybe because you're part of my team and it's my responsibility to see that you don't get killed by some third-rate criminal with a chip on his shoulder,” Steve said angrily, apparently fed up with Tony's lackadaisical attitude toward his own safety.

Tony looked up at a towering Captain America standing mere inches from him. Normally Tony would insist on at least two feet of distance between him and the other person, but Steve would always be an exception. This time, however, he wasn't sure if having an angry Captain America within arm's reach was the smartest idea he'd ever had.

“I get it, you're loyal to your troops. I'm still more than capable of taking care of myself.”

“I thought we weren't soldiers, Mr. Stark,” Steve reminded him, the corner of his mouth quirking up in an attractive smirk. He even put an emphasis on mister.

“We're not, so you don't have to worry about your duty or whatever it is,” Tony said, flapping a hand at him. “I'll be fine.”

“You probably will be, but that doesn't mean your teammates want to stand on the sidelines and watch you fight alone. Would it kill you to let us help?”

“It might,” Tony said petulantly.

“Come on, Tony,” Steve persisted. “I promise no SHIELD agents. I'll only allow Avengers in the Tower. No spies, just friends.”

Tony sighed long and loud. “Fine. I've been meaning to invite you guys to stay here anyway. Your rooms are finally finished. Besides, it wouldn't be Avengers Tower without Avengers living in it, now would it?”

“Thanks,” Steve said, a huge smile on his face like Tony was doing him some great favor. “You won't regret this.”

“Somehow, I highly doubt that,” Tony muttered as Steve bounded out the door, a big bundle of excitement.

~*~*~*~*~*~

One by one most of the Avengers managed to relocate to the Tower. Tony wasn't sure when it happened, but one day he was shooing Steve out of his workshop with permission to gather the rest of their not-so-merry band and the next there they all were eating his food in his kitchen. Coffee, that was all he wanted when he wandered into the kitchen that day and what he got was the absolute scariest smile he had ever seen. Tony was sure Natasha was planning his demise if that smile was anything to go by. Or flaunting her victory. It was hard to tell.

“Hey, Stark,” Barton waved cheerfully from the far side of the table. “Long time, no see.”

“Yeah, hi. When did you get here?”

“About two weeks ago. You had JARVIS show me to my room and I use the word 'show' loosely,” Barton replied.

Tony waved a dismissive hand, sauntering over to the coffee maker and pouring himself a cup. “JARVIS doesn't need me to tell him what to do. He just does it. Right, J?”

“Of course, Sir,” JARVIS said from a concealed speaker in the ceiling.

“See? JARVIS is a genius.”

“I am honored to be thought of so highly by my creator.”

Tony frowned up at the ceiling. “No need to get snarky there, J. Next thing you know, you'll be going all Skynet on us and trying to take over the world.”

“I wouldn't dream of it, Sir.”

“Sure you wouldn't,” Tony muttered sarcastically, glancing around the kitchen and frowning. “Hey, there's only four of you. Where's Thor?”

“He's still in Asgard and hasn't returned yet or I'm sure he would be here,” Bruce answered, sipping out of his own mug.

“I thought you were calling in the whole team, Cap. What happened?” Tony taunted, leaning a hip against the counter.

“I tried calling him on these newfangled mobile devices,” Steve answered, holding up his cell between thumb and first finger like it was a bomb. When he caught Tony's eye, he smirked. “But he doesn't seem to be picking up.”

“It's a cell phone, Cap, not a magic mirror,” Tony snarked. “Bring it down to my workshop later and I'll see what I can do to fix that.”

“You intend to modify Steve's phone so he can make trans-dimensional calls to Norse gods?” Barton asked disbelievingly.

Tony gave him a look. “Of course not. That would be impossible. Unless they have cell towers on Asgard, which I doubt. I was being sarcastic.”

Natasha rolled her eyes, sipping something Tony was afraid to ask the identity of. “I thought you were a genius, Stark.”

“Genius, yes. Magician, not so much. I'll have to do some research if you want me to pull a rabbit out of my hat.”

“I thought everyone could pull rabbits out of their hats,” Barton commented.

“Let me get you hat and you can show us, Barton,” Tony shot back. Barton just shrugged. “Now, if you'll all excuse me, I have work to do.”

Tony spun on the spot and made for the door, but his escape was not to be made so easily.

“What are you working on down there anyway, Tony,” Steve asked. “This is the first time I've seen you since the day I came here.”

“Stuff, Cap,” Tony said, turning around and walking backward toward the door. “And things.”

“For two weeks?” Bruce asked skeptically.

“Very important stuff and things,” Tony corrected. “Catch ya later.”

Tony was gone and back within the sanctuary that was his workshop before anyone else could stop him. He'd probably have to have JARVIS start monitoring the Tower's new occupants so he could get his coffee without being ambushed by one or all of them.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day Tony was jarred out of his intense work-induced focus by the blaring of the klaxons. He nearly fell off his stool at the sudden noise, but managed to keep his balance after dropping the small screwdriver he was using. It clattered to the floor and rolled away somewhere. Tony didn't bother keeping track.

“J? What's going on?” He demanded, turning automatically to see the screens JARVIS projected for him.

Every image was the same. What appeared to be robots swarmed over various areas of the city. The robots were boxy and old-fashioned. Tony couldn't remember the last time he had seen such a large amount of outdated technology in one place. It almost made him want to cry to see them shambling around. He considered telling JARVIS to have the Avengers stand down and alert the police to deal with it instead, but Tony thought that would result in bad press and not more time for him to work on his latest project.

“It appears to be an invasion of the city, Sir,” JARVIS reported. “The Avengers are already assembling.”

“Thanks, J. Tell them I'll meet them on the scene. I got a ride.”

“Of course, Sir.”

Tony hopped off his stool and took the few steps to his latest armor hanging in the area he had set aside for testing them. The armor descended enough for him to step into it from the behind, the back closing around him as the HUD came online. He flexed his hands, testing the armor's responsiveness. Deeming it acceptable, Tony activated the boot thrusters and took off through the overhead door, heading into battle for the first time since he destroyed his armors after the battle with Killian.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The Avengers arrived on the scene mere minutes after the call to assemble first sounded. Steve may have been from a time when robots could only be found in science fiction novels, but even he thought these particular robots were pathetic. It didn't help that he could hear Tony's running commentary about their enemies over the comms and none of it could be considered flattering.

“It's like these things were put together by a badly trained monkey with super glue and duct tape,” Tony complained, ripping the head off of one without even trying. “I take that back. Super glue and duct tape would have held up better than this. It's an insult to techies everywhere. I almost wanna cry.”

“I didn't even know you could cry, Stark,” Clint commented from whichever building he was perched on top of.

“You'd be surprised what I'm capable of when someone is abusing the good name of technological visionaries everywhere.”

“Cut the chatter, people,” Steve ordered, slinging his shield into the side of one and watching it crumple like tin foil. “Let's just focus on clearing these things out of the streets.”

“But, Cap,” Tony whined. “Even you have to see how absolutely dreadful this is. How can you even stand to look at this? It's a crime against technology, I tell you!”

“You can make improvements once you get back to your workshop,” Steve told him. “For now, take a leaf out of Hulk's book and smash.”

“Yes, sir, captain, sir!” Tony shot past, throwing him a mock salute as he went. Steve only rolled his eyes.

They cleared the area in less than an hour, barely breaking a sweat and definitely not breathing hard. Steve rather suspected most of them looked at the battle as one of those new games people played on televisions, but in real life. Tony sure laughed and carried on more than someone would for a serious fight.

Clint had joined in at some point, turning it into a contest between the two of them. Whoever took down the most robots one. Clint took the lead near the end, taunting Tony with his impending victory. So Tony, annoyed that he was about to lose, launched a hail of missiles, taking down dozens of robots at once and securing his victory. There was a lot of howling about cheating geniuses after that and Steve had to work hard to make himself unnoticeable in case they thought to drag him in as mediator. Fortunately, Natasha stepped in and reluctantly declared Tony the victor, adding that Clint should watch his mouth next time if he wanted to win.

Steve was just glad it was over. He wanted to go back to the Tower and take a shower. He may not have been overly sweaty, but robot grease covered him from head to toe. Natasha was much the same, having been on the ground with him. Clint and Tony, however, managed to avoid the majority of the grime being in the air and out of the way for the most part. Steve could see a few smears of grease on the Iron Man armor from the times when Tony landed to help him or Natasha out.

Bruce was a little the worse for wear. His shirt had been destroyed during his transformation and his pants shredded until they were shorts. He even had some grime of his own where the Hulk had torn robots to shreds and not bothered to care about such trivialities as getting dirty. Bruce, on the other hand, did not appear to share the other guy's sentiment.

“Can we go back to the Tower now?” Bruce asked over the comms. “I'm in dire need of a shower.”

“What? Can't stand a little grease?” Tony teased. “It's a good thing you decided to avoid becoming a mechanic.”

“Some of us prefer being clean, Tony. Not everyone appreciates motor oil as much as you,” Bruce retorted.

“Though, for the record, the rest of us would prefer you being clean too,” Clint chimed in. “I'm getting tired of grabbing for the coffee and getting grease on my hands.”

“My kitchen, my coffeemaker, my grease, Barton,” Tony shot back. “I can do with them what I like.”

“I knew I shouldn't have let them within sight of each other,” Steve muttered to himself, groaning silently.

“Last one back to the Tower's a rotten egg!” Tony shouted, doing a one-eighty and shooting off toward the Tower.

“Hey! No fair!” Clint shouted, running for the Quinjet to give chase.

“Everyone pile in or we'll get left behind,” Steve ordered, sprinting for the Quinjet himself. Bruce and Natasha followed him.

They only just made it on board when Clint took off, throwing them all to the floor in a graceless heap. Needless to say, Tony won that round too.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Tony had just settled down on his favorite stool, hair still damp from a quick shower, even he didn't like being all sticky with sweat if he could help it, when Steve waltzed right into his workshop like there wasn't even a door. The man must have sped through his cleanup routine as he looked just as damp as Tony and Tony knew he had gotten back significantly sooner than the others.

His shower didn't appear to have improved Steve's mood any. He strode purposefully toward Tony, all golden boy determination and stubbornness. Steve didn't even wait for Tony to make some pointed quip about the door being closed for a reason before he started talking.

“We need to talk.”

“How did you even get in here?” Tony asked, pointing an accusing finger at Steve. “I could have sworn that door was locked.”

“I asked nicely,” Steve replied off-handed. “Can we talk?”

“I don't recall giving permission for you to come in here.”

“Not you. JARVIS. He let me in.”

Tony frowned up at the ceiling. “JARVIS? Is there a reason you let tall, blond, and spangled in here without telling me first?”

“Captain Rogers said he had urgent business to discuss with you, Sir,” the AI responded as though it were obvious.

“That's the last time I build an AI as smart as me,” Tony muttered under his breath, turning his back on Steve and pulling up several screens filled with his various projects just as they had been when he left.

“Tony, I think it would be a good idea to find out who was behind that robot attack this morning,” Steve plowed ahead, apparently ignoring Tony's dogged disinterest.

“They were just robots, Cap. And not even very good ones.”

“Exactly.”

Tony turned to face Steve, leveling him with his most serious stare. “You've got my attention. Go on.”

“I read the file on Hammer and your rivalry, including the incident with Vanko at the Stark Expo,” Steve admitted. Tony just shrugged, it was pretty common knowledge anyway, but Steve wasn't finished yet. “This sounds like something he would do.”

“I'm impressed, Cap,” Tony said, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. “You've picked up on Hammer's unique mix of arrogance and poor technical skills. I'll even admit that Hammer's involvement hadn't occurred to me until just now, but it does make a sickening amount of sense. Guess we have nothing to worry about, then!”

“Be serious, Tony.”

“I am being serious. Hammer's not a threat, Cap. He's more like a really bad joke that people won't stop telling,” Tony said, going back to his screens. “It's sad, really. Or would be if anyone cared.”

“Is your safety a joke, then?” Steve countered. He sounded so pleased with himself that Tony hated to burst his bubble, but he did it anyway.

“I'm not in any danger. The last time we tangled Hammer had to bring in an angry Russian with a grudge to go toe-to-toe with me and I still came out on top.”

“That doesn't mean you always will,” Steve pointed out.

“Are we doubting my grown-up-able-to-take-care-of-myself-big-boy status already?”

“Tony...”

His name came out as more of a groan, which threw Tony off a little and distracted him from the thread of the conversation. There was something about that sound that set his blood afire, but Steve was staring at him curiously and Tony had to pull himself back together before he gave whatever it was away.

“Why does everyone say my name like that? It's starting to get annoying,” Tony said.

“Maybe because you exasperate everyone you talk to, especially the ones who only want to help?” Steve suggested with false brightness.

“Wasn't really looking for an answer there, Cap.”

“But, Tony– ” Steve tried, but Tony interrupted him.

“Everything will be fine. You shouldn't worry so much. It gives you wrinkles.”

Steve sighed exasperatedly at him and left, no doubt to confer with the rest of the present Avengers and come up with a foolproof plan to keep Tony alive and well for the foreseeable future. Too bad they wouldn't need it.

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Has anyone seen Tony?”

It was Saturday night, officially dubbed movie night by the rest of the group. Well, Clint declared it movie night and Steve had made the others participate as a team bonding exercise. The only person whose attendance was spotty at best was Tony. Sometimes he would show up and sit through a movie with them, usually choosing a spot on the sofa next to Steve or on the floor near him if his first choice was unavailable. It became such a well known quirk of his that the others started leaving the spot on the couch next to Steve open even if Tony had disappeared, much like tonight. Steve was starting to grow concerned by their teammate's random absences.

“Haven't seen him since that team dinner you made us go to three days ago,” Clint said, browsing Tony's truly impressive DVD collection. It covered an entire wall, floor to ceiling, of the communal living area.

Steve turned to Natasha, thinking that if anyone would know where their resident genius was it would be her, but she shook her head. “Sorry, Steve.”

“Bruce?” Steve asked hopefully.

“I haven't seen him either.”

“Where could he have gone?” Steve demanded of no one in particular. He wasn't really expecting a response, so when the disembodied voice of JARVIS sounded from the ceiling, Steve nearly leapt out of his skin.

“Sir has gone to the mansion, Captain Rogers. He said it was nothing and not to concern yourselves with his absence, but to enjoy your movie.”

Steve frowned. “What mansion?”

“Sir owns a mansion not far from here. The family estate was passed down to him from his parents upon their death.”

“I didn't know Stark had his own mansion,” Clint said, impressed. “Why is he making us live here instead of there?”

“The mansion has fallen into disrepair and is unsuitable for human habitation,” JARVIS answered.

“Then what is Tony doing there?” Steve asked.

“Forgive me, Captain Rogers, but I am not at liberty to say.”

“Then can you at least tell me where it is?”

“Certainly, Captain.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

“So this is where you've been hiding.”

Tony jumped and spun around, raising the wrench he was holding above his head in preparation to attack the intruder. He lowered it when he saw a grinning Steve.

“What are you doing here? And what is with you and just waltzing into my space all the time?” Tony demanded.

“I did knock, but no one answered. The door was open so I decided to come in,” Steve answered. “Now answer my question.”

“Sometimes I come here to get away from people.”

“You already spend most of your time alone in your workshop,” Steve pointed out. “What's the real reason?”

“You just don't stop, do you?”

“No. So you might as well just tell me. It'll save both of us some time.”

Tony sighed, but put the wrench down on a nearby makeshift table and gestured for Steve to follow him. They went on a short tour of the mansion, Tony identifying each room they passed until they reached the kitchen. Tony led them inside, heading to the refrigerator and pulling out a soda. He didn't really feel like being impaired while working.

“You want anything?” Tony asked, gesturing with his own drink.

“Whatever you're having is fine.”

Tony grabbed another soda and tossed it to Steve, who caught it and set it down on the counter next to him. He had to admit he was a little disappointed that he wouldn't get to see Steve sprayed with shaken up soda. Steve didn't seem to notice, though, instead watching Tony expectantly. Tony delayed the inevitable as long as he could, taking his time opening the can and taking a long drink. Steve just waited patiently like the boy scout he was.

“You wanted to know what I was doing here,” Tony said. Steve nodded. “I've been fixing up the mansion in my spare time.”

“Why is it such a secret, if all you're doing is making repairs?” Steve asked.

“It's not really a secret. I just don't want to talk about it. And it's more than repairs. I'm making improvements.”

“Improvements. Right. Still, that doesn't sound like you,” Steve said, leaning back against the counter.

“And you know me so well,” Tony shot back, turning his back and taking a few steps away from Steve. “As you just pointed out, I spend all my time locked away in my workshop.”

“I said 'most of your time,' but when you do come out you're always talking about your latest invention or upgrade or improvement, any project really, and you get all excited when someone shows an interest in it.”

Tony turned around and stared at Steve in shock. “How do you know that?”

Steve shrugged. “I pay attention.”

“You'd be the only one,” Tony grumbled.

He continued on his original path until he reached the wall. Tony leaned back against it and slid down until he was sitting on the floor, knees bent so he could rest his elbows on them and hang his hands in the space between, can of soda almost forgotten in one hand. He tilted his head back so it rested against the wall and he could stare unseeing at the ceiling.

Steve frowned. At least, the atmosphere in the room felt like Steve frowning. Tony didn't want to look. Then, all of a sudden, there was a warm presence on the floor next to him.

“I get the feeling there's more to it than just fixing up this old place,” Steve said, not prying or pestering.

He said it like it was a casual fact of life, leaving Tony free to respond or ignore him as he wished. In that moment, Steve lived up to every ideal and instance of hero worship a young Tony had ever indulged in. He made Tony feel like that little boy again, the boy who knew everything would be alright as long as Captain America around.

“Improving, not fixing,” Tony reminded him quietly after a moment's silence.

“Improving,” Steve agreed.

Tony gathered his courage enough to peak over at Steve. The man sat on the floor, back against the wall, mirroring Tony's position. He was even looking blankly up at the ceiling and not at Tony as the genius had half expected. Steve wasn't going to force him to talk if he didn't want to, but he was there to listen if Tony wanted.

“You really are a superhero, you know that?” Tony said, looking back up at the ceiling.

“That's what they tell me.”

Tony chuckled, he couldn't help it, and looked back at Steve. He was already looking at Tony, a huge grin on his face that Tony mirrored briefly before it fell, replaced with the same melancholy expression he had worn earlier. Steve's expression changed to match, turning more solemn as he continued to watch Tony.

“Pepper and I broke up,” Tony muttered, half hoping Steve wouldn't hear him. Of course, the super soldier came equipped with super hearing and heard every word.

“I'm sorry, Tony,” Steve said earnestly, his arm twitching in an aborted attempt to reach out and comfort Tony. He must have remembered Tony didn't like being touched casually, not that he would have said no to Captain America, his childhood hero. “When did it happen?”

“Several months ago before I moved back to New York,” Tony answered, head bowed so he could look at the floor instead of confronting that look of sympathy Steve wore so well. “It's why I came back, actually. She wanted space and the company is nothing without her, so I moved back to the Tower and she stayed in California.”

“Tony...”

“Sorry, didn't mean to drop all that on you at once,” Tony said before Steve could figure out what he wanted to say. He stood and dusted himself off. “Come on. We should probably get back to the Tower before the rest of them wonder where their beloved leader wandered off to.”

“Didn't you have more work you wanted to do?” Steve asked, glancing down the hall toward the room he had found Tony.

“Nah, it can wait until later. Besides, it's movie night, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So, let's go. They've probably started without us, those heathens.”

Steve followed without anymore protest and they never mentioned their little chat again. Still, Steve made more of an effort to visit him in his workshop after that. Somehow, Tony wasn't exactly sure how, they managed to grow closer amid their daily activities. Tony was actually happy and looked forward to Steve's visits each day. Somewhere along the way, Tony had managed to become friends with Steve.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Tony was working in his workshop several days later. It was nothing much, just some tweaking on the Iron Man gauntlets since he was waiting for Steve to come down and he didn't want to be too caught up in an important project when the big guy finally made an appearance. Maybe he was distracted by Steve's impending visit or maybe the gauntlets were more interesting than he thought because the sudden shattering of glass and subsequent strike to the side of his head took him completely by surprise.

He woke up with a pounding headache worse than any hangover he'd ever had. Groaning, Tony put a hand to his head and slowly sat up. Someone put an arm around his back, helping and supporting him.

“Tony?”

It was Steve's voice. Tony carefully opened his eyes the barest sliver, blinking in the sunlight still streaming in through the windows. Steve knelt beside him, blue eyes brimming with concern.

“What hit me?” Tony groaned, pressing his fingertips to his temples.

“A robot, we think,” Bruce said from the other side. He grabbed Tony's arm and started checking his vitals, including flashing that annoying little flashlight in his eyes.

“What are you doing here? Who's throwing the party?” Tony sniped, irritably swatting at the flashlight. Steve grabbed his arm and held him still when he tried.

“Let him examine you, Tony. You could be hurt,” Steve said. Tony just gave him a look.

“Steve had JARVIS call for us when he arrived and saw both the invading robots and you lying unconscious on the floor,” Natasha answered him, appearing at his side as if by magic.

“Damn ninja,” Tony grumbled. “What happened?”

“We were gonna ask you that,” Barton said from over by the smashed window.

He must have been looking down at the huge drop to the ground below and probably thinking the same thing Tony was. The robots had to have had Iron Man tech if they flew up that high without Tony noticing.

Tony groaned. “You're here too?”

“We all are,” Steve said. “Well, except Thor, but he wasn't answering his phone.”

“Steve, Steve, Steve,” Tony tsked, shaking his head once before stopping from the pain. “Don't you know any other jokes?”

“Do you really think now is the time for joking?” Steve retorted.

“Good point. What happened?”

“It appears the same robots that we fought before decided they wanted to break into your workshop, Stark,” Barton commented, holding up a familiar robot arm. Tony stared. “Courtesy of Cap.”

“The workshop's a wreck. They were looking for something,” Natasha added.

“Did they find it?” Steve asked, looking around as though he could see what was missing in the mess of Tony's workshop.

“It appears they retrieved what they came for, Captain Rogers,” JARVIS said.

“What did they get?”

“The prototype drone technology Sir was working on when you first arrived, Captain.”

“The prototype?” Tony asked, glancing toward the nearest camera.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Is that important?” Steve asked.

“No, I finished the final product. The prototype is pointless now,” Tony replied. “It won't work with anything, so there's nothing to worry about.”

“You turned your armor into a drone?” Barton said in disbelief. “What? Didn't want to get out there and risk you neck anymore?”

“The drone technology wasn't for the armor,” Tony explained. “The armor was just a convenient test subject.”

Steve gave him a strange look, like he was trying to figure something out, but didn't comment. Instead, he helped Tony to his feet, steadying him as they left the workshop.

“You need to rest. We'll clean your workshop up later.”

“Sir, yes, sir,” Tony grinned, tossing Steve a sloppy salute.

“Grow up, Tony.”

“I'm older than you.”

“And don't you forget it, grandpa.”

Tony gasped, dramatically placing a hand over his heart. “You wound me! How cruel America's Golden Boy is!”

Steve just rolled his eyes. “I don't know why I put up with you.”

“Because I'm devilishly charming and unbelievably brilliant?” Tony suggested.

“That must be it.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

The Avengers found themselves back on the streets of New York a mere week later. Another round of villainous robots had made their presence known by terrorizing the citizens. The team had suited up and flown out together to meet the latest threat. Tony even paced the Quinjet in his armor, touching down and providing covering fire while the rest disembarked.

“Take to the air, Iron Man,” Steve ordered as soon as Bruce exited the Quinjet already morphing into the Hulk. “And take Hawkeye with you.”

“Better clench up, Legolas,” Tony said, grabbing Barton by the collar and taking off.

“Talk about old jokes,” Barton muttered. “Drop me at the nearest building. Would you?”

“No problem,” Tony said, dropping Barton from several feet as he flew by a fairly tall building.

“Dammit, Stark!” Barton shouted over the comms as he landed and rolled. “What the hell?!”

“Might want to watch the words you use next time,” Tony suggested cheerfully, blasting a flying robot out of the sky with his repulsors. “There was a little too much room for interpretation.”

Barton muttered something likely unflattering, but Tony didn't get a chance to demand he repeat himself.

“Cut the chatter,” Steve ordered. Tony looked down in time to see him flinging his shield into a line of robots and knocking them all down.

“Nice shot, Cap.”

“Thanks, Iron Man. Watch your six.”

Tony glanced in his HUD and saw an entire squadron of robots on his tail. “Yeah, I see 'em. Any suggestions?”

“You're the robot expert here,” Barton said. He still sounded a little peeved.

“I'm an expert at building them. My experience with destroying them is not quite as extensive.”

“Try the trick you used on the Chitauri,” Barton suggested. “They don't look all that agile.”

Tony took the advice to heart, finding a tight corner and slinging himself around it at top speed. Half the robots on his tail missed the turn, slamming into the far building and exploding spectacularly. The rest stayed on him, but he took two more out with a sudden trajectory change, shooting up the side of another building and watching on the HUD as a third of his remaining tail blew up.

“Thanks, Birdbrain,” Tony said. “They may not be the best robots I've ever seen, but they do make a pretty explosion.”

“Where are you going, Iron Man?” Steve asked over the comm.

“You'll see. I've got a trick or two of my own up my sleeve.”

Tony continued gaining altitude, careful to go fast enough to stay out of range, but slow enough not to discourage the remaining four robots. He was just hitting the altitude where the Mark II had started forming ice when a voice Tony had hoped never to hear again sounded in his ear.

“Tony, Tony, Tony,” Hammer tsked at him. “Do you really think that will work on me?”

“Hammer! You slimy rat! Where are you?” Tony demanded, searching his HUD for any sign of his nemesis. That was when he noticed the robots tailing him weren't icing up. “Damn!”

“How did you solve your icing problem, Tony?” Hammer taunted. “It was a gold-titanium alloy as I recall.”

“How did you find that out?” Tony demanded, diving back toward the ground in an effort to shake his tail.

“I know people who know people. That's not the point.”

“Oh? Please, enlighten me,” Tony said sarcastically. “I'm dying to hear every random thought that runs through that brainless head of yours.”

“Ah, yes. Tony Stark thinks he's so much smarter than the rest of us, but I've caught up to you now. My technology is just as good as yours.”

“You're wrong, Hammer,” Tony said, putting on the brakes and spinning in midair to face his opponents. “I don't think I'm smarter than everyone, just you.” He targeted all four robots and sent a missile for each one soaring toward them. They exploded just like all the others. “And your tech will never be as good as mine.”

“That's what you think,” Hammer laughed maniacally. “Check this out.”

Tony was just about to ask what the hell he was talking about when his thrusters cut out suddenly and he dropped a dozen feet. He could hear the others calling out to him over the comm, probably alerted by Hammer's bragging and Tony's screaming. The thrusters came online again just before he hit the ground, saving him from becoming a pancake on the asphalt.

“Iron Man! What just happened?” Steve demanded. Tony couldn't see him anywhere, but that didn't really mean anything.

“There's a glitch in the armor or something,” Tony said. “J, run a diagnostic.”

“Of course, Sir, running diagnostic now.” JARVIS paused for a few seconds. “Nothing appears to be wrong with the armor. It is functioning at 100%.”

“There's nothing wrong with your armor, Tony,” Hammer said, his voice sounded just like Tony imagined a weasel would if it could talk. “That was me.”

“Uh, oh.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

“What do you mean 'uh, oh'? Iron Man?” Steve demanded over the comm.

He couldn't see what was going on outside, somehow having gotten cornered inside an evacuated building. At least it was empty and Steve didn't have to worry about hurting an innocent person while he was flinging robots and his shield alike.

“Remember when I said that stolen prototype was no big deal?” Tony asked.

“You said you finished the final product and the prototype was useless,” Barton said. A robot exploded just outside, blasting several nearby robots and throwing Steve to the ground.

“What I said was the prototype was pointless,” Tony corrected, his voice going up at the end as he presumably dropped several more feet against his will.

“Explain, Stark,” came Natasha's deadly serious voice. Even Steve shivered at the promise of violence.

“It would seem Hammer was the one who stole my prototype.”

“So?” Steve said, grunting as he was caught by one of the robots.

He struggled with it, but the robot matched his strength and sent his shield flying toward the glass ceiling, shattering it and raining glass down on all of them. Steve covered his head with his remaining free arm, shaking the robot off with a well-placed kick and jerk of his captive arm. The other robots tried to stop him, chasing him up the stairs and through rooms as Steve climbed to the top and his shield, which had landed on the roof.

“I might have forgotten to disconnect my armor from the prototype,” Tony admitted.

“That's right. The great Tony Stark isn't so smart after all,” Hammer sneered over the comm.

Steve had reached the top floor by now, swinging up toward the hole in the ceiling using anything he could grab. His heart beat in his throat and Steve was sure his stomach must have been left several floors below. Steve had just climbed onto the roof and grabbed his shield when Tony started screaming again.

“Tony? Tony!”

Steve ran to the edge of the roof just in time to see a crimson and gold streak falling through the sky. His heart stopped beating and he stared on in horror as Iron Man fell from the sky, smashing into the street far below and exploding in a brilliant ball of fire.

“TONY!”

“And that, my friends, is what happens when you mess with Justin Hammer,” Hammer chortled.

“Tony? Tony, answer me!” Steve called, ignoring Hammer.

“You're too late, Captain,” Hammer laughed. “The signal is gone. You do know what that means, don't you? I know you were raised in the dark ages, so you might not. It means he's gone, passed to the other side, dead.”

Steve saw red. “I will kill you, Hammer. Do you hear me? I am coming for you.”

Hammer just laughed.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Pepper stood at the head of the gathered assembly. Her eyes were filled with tears, but she refused to let them fall. The same could not be said for the rest of them. Even Natasha shed a tear or two at Pepper's speech for their fallen friend.

“Despite appearances, Tony was not the kind of person who would want a huge fuss made over him. He liked to keep to himself and those closest to him, those few people he could call his friends. Tony didn't like to show how much he cared about each and every one of us in any conventional way. No, Tony made grand gestures that were hard to appreciate at the time, but that you would give anything to be able to go back and just say thank you.”

Steve bowed his head, trying to hold back the tears. Thor sat beside him, having finally arrived from Asgard after hearing news of his teammates' troubles back on Earth. Steve had hated to tell him that he was too late and one of their number was gone. It took the combined efforts of all the remaining Avengers plus Colonel Rhodes to stop the demigod’s rampage at the news. Now he stared at the memorial set up in Tony's honor.

On his other side sat Natasha. She was stoic as ever except for a single tear. Seeing her reaction nearly sent Steve headlong into uncontrollable tears. Clint sat on Natasha's other side, avoiding everyone's eyes. Steve had never seen him so distraught.

Colonel Rhodes sat on Thor's other side with an empty chair next to him for Pepper. He sat straight-backed and stared straight ahead. A muscle in his jaw twitching every so often as he clenched it to keep from crying openly. Steve could understand the reaction. If he could, he would have been that stoic, but it was Tony.

Steve wondered how Bruce was doing. He had decided to stand in the back, afraid being too close to the front would be too hard for him. The Hulk had already gone on a roaring rampage of revenge trying to find Hammer immediately after Tony's death. After that Bruce decided to play it safe and stay as far from the ceremony as he could while still being there to honor his friend.

“I remember the last gesture I received from Tony,” Pepper continued, “and how badly I reacted at the time. He bought me a giant stuffed bunny and I was so ungrateful. I wish more than anything that I could go back and just tell him thank you. I was always making him feel like he had to make something up to me

“But that was the great thing about Tony. No matter what you did or how many mistakes you made, he never held it against you. I think Tony was just happy to have friends, people who would care about him and that he could count on to have his back when he needed them.”

Pepper paused for a moment. Steve could hear her sniffling and trying to regain her composure.

“Tony was a hero, but he was the kind that never expected anything in return. Not even from his friends. Tony considered it his duty to be there for those few people he considered his, to protect and care for them and never once did he ask for anything in return. Tony was that one person who was willing to sacrifice himself not for the greater good, but for the health and happiness of his friends.

“Tony was a hero to each and every one of us. He may have been difficult to get to know and nearly impossible to get along with, but he was the most loyal friend a person could ask for and I know that Tony will be sorely missed by his friends, the people he considered his family.”

Pepper was in tears now, barely able to get the last few words out. She hurried away from the front and took her seat again, crying openly now. Happy, sitting in the chair next to hers, put an arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her. Rhodes gripped her hand tightly. The three sat together in solidarity, bound together as those who had known Tony the longest and who would feel his loss the deepest.

Gradually, the mourners departed one by one, leaving Steve alone in front of the gravestone erected in Tony's memory. They never found his body or even the armor, but Pepper had felt, and Steve agreed, that they needed somewhere to go to remember Tony. So Steve was standing in front of Tony's empty grave in the Stark family cemetery on the mansion's grounds. Two trees framed Tony's stone on either side and a small vase in front of the grave held two blue flowers.

Steve stood there for a long time, just staring at Tony's name and the epithet, “beloved friend and teammate.” Eventually, he left, taking his motorcycle out and just riding. He didn't know where he was going, zoning out for most of the ride and only coming to long enough to notice bits and pieces. At one point he noticed he was in a dark tunnel with a light at the end. It was too much for him so he pulled over the first chance he got.

It turned out to be a park with people wandering around. Sometimes they were in groups or pairs and sometimes they were with their pets. Steve nearly turned around and got back on his bike, but just the thought of going back through that tunnel sent him deeper into the park. Finally, he found a quiet, solitary part of the park where he could linger without being disturbed. A small, arched bridge spanned a trickling creek. Steve spent several peaceful hours there, staring blankly out over the water.

Steve visited Tony's grave every day, rain or shine, it didn't matter. Sometimes he would talk to Tony like in the old days when he would visit the genius in his workshop. Most days he would bring a bottle of some alcoholic beverage he found in Tony's stores and just stare at the gravestone. He couldn't get drunk, but having something that was clearly once a part of Tony's life helped. Or maybe it didn't. Steve couldn't really bring himself to care.

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Two Months Later**

~*~*~*~*~*~

Steve was just returning to the communal living area from the kitchen with the popcorn for movie night when he saw him. There, standing in the doorway like he'd never left, was Tony. He looked a little the worse for wear, with scratches and yellowed bruises on every exposed inch of skin.

“Miss me?” He asked, grinning widely.

Steve dropped the popcorn, letting the bowl clatter to the floor and make a mess, but he didn't care. As if the spilled popcorn was the signal everyone was waiting, the Avengers sprang into action. Clint and Natasha vaulted the sofa while Bruce simply walked around it. Thor leapt from his chair with a gleeful shout. They all converged on Tony, gathering around him, but Steve was there first.

He reached Tony and flung his arms around the smaller man, hugging him close and burying his face in Tony's neck. He smelled of grease and cologne, that unique scent that would always mean Tony to Steve.

“Yes,” Steve breathed into Tony's neck, squeezing him tighter when Tony finally put his arms around Steve and hugged him back. “I missed you so much.”

“Yeah, well, I'm back. A little the worse for wear, but definitely alive.”

Steve laughed, reluctantly releasing Tony and taking a step back so he could greet the others. Everyone was talking at once, excited to see the one person they thought was lost to them forever. Tony took it all in stride, all smiles and cheer. He even accepted a bone crushing hug from Thor with grace.

“Alright, alright, you can all calm down now,” Tony eventually said. “I'm starting to think my own team is more of a danger to me than that little stunt I pulled a couple months ago.”

“Stunt?” Steve repeated.

“I think you had better explain, Stark,” Natasha added, the promise of violence returning to her voice like it have never left.

“You know, you only call me Stark when you're angry with me,” Tony pointed out.

“You're stalling.”

“Fine, fine, I'll spill,” Tony acquiesced. He led the way back to the sofa, taking his usual spot. Steve took his place next to him while the others sat in the first available seats. “You see, I knew the prototype was still connected to my armor when we learned it was stolen.”

“Why didn't you tell us?” Steve asked.

“Because I knew you would want to do something about it and my plan would work better if none of you interfered. And, the only way to make sure you all stayed out of it was not to tell you,” Tony explained. “No offense.”

“Of course not,” Clint muttered. Everyone ignored him.

“I knew Hammer couldn't be working alone, his tech was too good for that. My suspicions were confirmed at that last battle. I'm the only one who knew how to resolve the icing problem with the armors.”

“The gold-titanium alloy Hammer mentioned?” Steve asked.

“Exactly,” Tony said. “I only ever mentioned it to one person when I was making my second and third armors. Guess who that person was.”

Steve's brow furrowed in confusion, but Natasha didn't hesitate. “Stane,” she said.

“Bingo!” Tony shouted, pointing at her. “It was Stane.”

“I thought he died in the blast from the giant arc reactor blast at Stark Industries,” Steve said.

“That's what everyone thought, but they never found the body,” Natasha explained. “He must have survived and bided his time until he could get revenge. And who better to help him get revenge than a competing technology developer with a chip on his shoulder?”

“My thoughts exactly,” said Tony. “It took me a while, but I finally managed to figure out for certain who Hammer had allied himself with.”

“But why the ruse, Man of Iron?” Thor chimed in. “Could you not have learned your enemy's identity without faking your death?”

“Eventually, probably,” Tony admitted. “But it was easier if they thought I was dead and out of the way. None of you probably noticed, but Pepper has been fending off attempts to take over the company since my supposed death. I just followed those attempts back to the source. And who do I find at the other end? Hammer and Stane.”

“How did you survive?” Steve asked. “We all thought you were dead. Not even the armor survived.”

“Actually, it did. I flew it back here,” Tony said, grinning. “What you saw was a clever bit of coding, a perfectly timed missile blast, and some truly excellent acting on my part. You see, Hammer never really had control of the armor. I just let him think he did for the first few minutes, but at the last second I cut his feed and blocked the signal from my armor. At the same time, I fired one of my missiles specially prepared to make a big blast. The rest was just flying off while you were all distracted.”

“You pulled all that off without a hitch?” Bruce asked, sounding impressed.

“Mostly without a hitch,” Tony reluctantly admitted. “I did sustain some pretty bad injuries from the concussive force of the missile. Fortunately, the armor protected me from the worst of it.”

“What about Stane and Hammer?” Clint asked.

“What about them?”

“Are we hunting them down? When do we head out?” Clint looked between Tony and Steve like he wasn't sure who would be giving the order to move out.

“There's no need,” Tony said. He was grinning again. “I know where they're hiding. We can leave whenever Steve gives the word.”

“What are we waiting for?” Steve said immediately, standing determinedly. “Suit up. We head out on the Quinjet in five.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

The Avengers touched down outside the long abandoned warehouse Tony had tracked Hammer and Stane to. It looked just as abandoned as one would expect, but Tony assured them it was the place.

“Radio silence from here on out unless it's an emergency,” Steve ordered.

“You mean like Tony falling out of the sky again?” Clint joked.

“Yes, like Tony falling out of the sky again. That would be an emergency.”

“Hey! I already explained about that,” Tony objected.

“Okay, people, get ready. SHIELD is waiting to take them into custody. We take them alive,” Steve broke in, cutting off the brewing snipe fest before it got started. “Eyes on each other, no one goes off on their own. Understood?” There was a chorus of affirmatives. “Go!”

Bruce leaped out of the Quinjet first, transforming in midair as he smashed through the wall of the warehouse, creating an entrance for the rest. Steve led Natasha and Clint on the ground, bashing the defending robots in the head as they swarmed out of the Hulk-sized opening. Tony and Thor took to the air, blasting or electrocuting robots when they started to overwhelm their Earth-bound teammates.

They worked together, slowly working their way through the warehouse using the swath the Hulk cut through the robots' ranks. In the center stood Hammer and Stane. The Hulk roared in anger when he saw them and renewed his efforts to reach them. Thor also let out an enraged shout, smashing Mjolnir into the nearest robot.

“I knew you wouldn't be killed off that easily, Tony,” Stane called. By contrast, Hammer looked like he was seeing a ghost. “I've had experience trying after all.”

“You're damn right, Stane,” Tony ground out. “If you'll remember, I don't take kindly to people who try to kill me.”

“There's no arc reactor for you to have your little girlfriend overload this time, Tony,” Stane taunted. “And I thought you had broken up, so she wouldn't be here to help you anyway.”

“I don't need to endanger Pepper anymore. That's the difference between me and you. You use people, but I don't need to do that. I have a team who will stand by me. What have you got? A weasel with a pocketbook?”

“Tony, Tony, Tony,” Stane tsked, but Tony interrupted him.

“You lost the privilege to call me that years ago,” Tony growled. “I am Iron Man.”

“Very well. Hammer, have our army destroy Iron Man and his little group of superheroes.”

Hammer bent his head over a computer, pressing several keys in quick succession. Suddenly, the robots hesitated in their movements, stopping entirely for a second before coming back online even more vicious than before. Tony spun out of the way of a laser beam, blasting his attacker in the face with his repulsors.

“You'll have to do better than that,” Tony taunted.

“It might not be the best idea to taunt the guy with the deadly robot army,” Natasha suggested sarcastically, catching one of the robots with her Widow's Bites.

“Why don't we have a robot army?” Clint asked.

“Because some of us are too busy to build random robots and the rest are too dumb,” Tony replied. A robot grabbed him by the arm and he blasted it, shooting up and hovering above the battle so he could blast any robots that got too close to his teammates. “Cap! Watch your back!”

Steve shifted his shield to his back just in time to catch a small missile on it. The blast sent him to the floor. Rolling onto his back, Steve brought the shield up again in time to block a strike from another robot before it was sent flying by Tony who landed just long enough to grab Steve by the back of his suit and drag him up into the air like a rag doll.

“Gotta watch these guys,” Tony commented. “They've actually got teeth. I hate to admit it, but I'm impressed.”

“Yeah, I'm not so much,” Steve replied. “How do we stop them?”

Tony gestured with his helmeted head toward the computers surrounding Hammer and Stane as they watched the pitched battle. “No matter how much tech they stole from me, they wouldn't ever be able to reproduce JARVIS. We destroy those computers and the robots should go offline.”

“Got it. Destroy the computers,” Steve repeated. “New strategy, guys. Forget the robots and go for the computers.”

“If you can get me a clear path and a few seconds, I can make the shot,” Clint said.

“No, there are too many robots,” Steve said. “We'll never manage to keep them off you long enough for you to make the shot, not to mention clearing a path.”

“Hulk! You hearing me, buddy?” Tony called over his external speakers. Steve covered his ears on instinct, cringing from the sudden loudness so close to him. The Hulk roared back, turning to look at Tony hovering just out of reach of the grounded robots and blasting the ones that tried to fly up to them. He paused long enough to point at Hammer and Stane's computer set up. “Smash!”

The Hulk roared and rampaged toward the computers, knocking robots aside like they weren't even there. When he saw the giant, green rage monster stampeding toward him, Hammer screamed like a little girl, turning tail and running. Stane stood his ground until the last minute, diving to the side to avoid the Hulk smashing the computers to bits.

Robots fell left and right when their signal was lost. Natasha immediately took off after the fleeing Hammer, catching up to him and knocking him flat. She knelt on his back, pinning his arms behind him and preventing him from going anywhere. Clint was already on the comm, calling in their SHIELD back up.

Stane stood slowly, coming face to face with a thunderous Thor, arms crossed over his chest and general stance threatening. “Remain where you are, traitor,” Thor boomed.

“You think you've won, don't you, Tony?” Stane laughed maniacally, tossing his head back. “But you don't even know who the real culprits are.”

Tony landed with Steve behind Thor, lifting the faceplate so he could stare Stane down with his own eyes. “I've captured you and your lackey,” Tony pointed out. “And you've lost your robot army. I'd say that's a win for the Avengers.”

“The Avengers? Did you come up with that, Tony? Clever,” Stane taunted.

“No, I didn't. SHIELD did and they'll be the ones taking you into custody. With any luck, this is the last time I'll see you. Good riddance.”

Tony turned his back, stalking away with Steve at his side. Stane, however, wasn't done.

“You work for them? Ha! So much for that independence you so craved. Trying so hard to prove you could do everything your father could and look where it's got you. You're no better than me.”

“You're wrong,” Tony said quietly. “I accomplished more than my father. I stepped out of his shadow a long time ago.”

“Watch yourself, Tony,” Stane warned. “You may think you're hot stuff, but I know people who could snap you like a twig. You're nothing to them. And they're coming for you. The Winter Soldier is coming for you! He's coming for all of you!”

SHIELD agents swarmed in through the hole the Hulk had made earlier, cuffing both Hammer and Stane. Hammer went quietly, slumped over and defeated. Stane was still laughing as they led him away.

~*~*~*~*~*~

**Epilogue**

~*~*~*~*~*~

“Where are you taking me, Tony?” Steve asked, staring out the window of the Quinjet.

“Patience, soldier,” Tony teased. “You'll see.”

Steve waited patiently, watching the scenery go by until he saw it. The Stark Mansion grew larger in the windshield. It looked so much better than the last time he saw it months ago. Tony must have put a lot of work into it since then.

“When did you do all this?” Steve breathed.

“I didn't,” Tony admitted. “I hired someone to restore it before I went on my little two month adventure and paid them in advance. I did make some improvements when I came back though.”

Steve smiled. “That is what you do, make improvements.”

“You remembered.”

“Of course, I did.”

“So?” Tony pressed. “What do you think?”

“About what?”

“About using the mansion as the headquarters for the Avengers,” Tony suggested. “There are training areas, conference rooms, more tech than all the government agencies combined, and not to mention entertainment areas for downtime.”

Steve stared at Tony wide-eyed. “You really mean it?”

“Sure. I made the upgrades with that in mind,” Tony said. “We do need better resources if we're going to hunt down whoever is pulling Stane's strings and there's that Winter Soldier guy.”

“You're right. We do,” Steve agreed.

“Of course I'm right. I'm always right,” Tony bragged. Steve smiled. “So?”

“It's perfect.”

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[ART] The Crosses We Bear](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1618847) by [prompt_fills](https://archiveofourown.org/users/prompt_fills/pseuds/prompt_fills)




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